Easter Eggstravaganza!

Photo Karen Graham.Centennial Place staff teamed up with the library to deliver another fun- and chocolate-filled Easter Egg event.

The storm that arrived on Good Friday had organizers worrying about the practicalities of an Easter egg hunt in snowbanks, but by Sunday afternoon, the sun was shining and the ground had dried up enough to allow the event to proceed with a large, eager crowd. This year the local library teamed up with Centennial Place for the event, and Cavan Monaghan Library Outreach Coordinator Lindsay Molloy brought a variety of new activities. Inside the Fireside lounge there were Easter-themed crafts, face painting and stories making the event about more than prizes and chocolates, but there were plenty of those things, too.

On cue the egg hunters lined up in their age categories to collect colourful plastic eggs that were scattered around the building in age zones. This year organizers made a few changes to level the playing field when it came to prizes. The golden eggs for each age group that earned the successful hunter a bike were replaced with a note inside one of the plastic eggs in each zone, so no one could identify the winning egg without opening it up. This prevented outside scouting help and allowed the children to do their thing. Most of them were less concerned about the prize- the joy was in the hunt.

At the end of the hunt, children brought their loaded baskets loaded to a table where the eggs were opened to identify the bike winners and all participants swapped their plastic eggs for chocolate ones. This year chocolate eggs were distributed in bags instead of hidden inside the plastic eggs to allow a more even distribution of these treats and ensuring sugar highs were available for all patrons.

The hunt activity was followed by refreshments and Easter cookies with a celebrity appearance from the Easter Bunny who was anything but camera-shy.

All prizes were funded by Cavan Monaghan Libraries, Millbrook Valley Chocolates and Centennial Place Resident Council and Social Committee. For all attendees including many residents watching the event from the Fireside Lounge, the event provided a wonderful opportunity for intergenerational engagement. Congratulations to Library and Centennial Place staff and residents for organizing events like these which provide opportunities for the community to celebrate together. KG

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